Last April of 2008, my family made a trip to California for my brother's college graduation. He and his friends had completed their studies at a two year school called American Music Dramatic Academy [AMDA]. It was on the trip I was priviledged to meet some of the new faces that will soon appear in Hollywood films. Two people I met also had skills in another field of the film business, Francis H. and Mick F. have a passion for writing and their work proves their efforts. I have conducted an interview with both screenwriters/actors asking them about their personal screenplays and some insight to character development and overall screenwriting advice.
Interviewee Francis H.
Where does your inspiration for your writing come from? "I think the cop out answer is life but that’s really the truth. I try to observe people and their motivation for doing the things they do. Ordinary people make for inspiring characters because I think in a big way it’s the more average people out there that I have trouble connecting with and because of that they’re intriguing. Different cultures and the weird way we conduct ourselves makes for a huge amount of inspiration. After spending two minutes with a person I begin to wonder, 'Ok, I know I went through a lot of twists and turns to find myself the person I am at this point, how did they end up here, wouldn’t that be interesting to make up and create?'"
How old were you when you realized you enjoyed writing
and that you were exceptionally talented at it? "I think I started writing out of necessity to provide something for my cartooning. I was very young when I stopped focusing on coloring inside the lines and started concerning myself with drawing my own pictures, probably five. I use to make ridiculous comics about hamsters who talked and melancholy French bulldogs that lived together and wore turtlenecks and I think it was in large part because of the Nickelodeon television culture at the time. That really impacted me, shows like Ren and Stimpy and Rocko’s Modern Life, they told me 'Hey, this is what’s funny and if you want to draw these kinds of characters you’re going to have to provide them with dialogue, with funny things to say.' I can’t say I really knew I was exceptionally talented until I got recognition from my teachers and family. I guess it was weird to see this little kid writing and drawing his own little comic series. Once it was noticed though, my parents put all their power into trying to make me pursue it. My mother read dozens of strange, imaginative books to me before I would go to sleep and I went to a few drawing camps. Once the gift was recognized fuel was kept at a rapid pace on the fire."
You have written a piece called "Roped," do you mind stating a brief synopsis of the play without giving too much away? "Roped is a piece about morality and giving up or going on. It takes place at a college with four friends, Parker, Hearse, Ike and Elmo. The main character, Parker, finds out about a rumored loophole that provides any person whose roommate commits suicide with straight A’s. Once he has this information he begins to devise a plan to convince his roommate Hearse to take his own life."
How did the idea for "Roped" come to you? "I think once anyone goes to college or even in my case before that, there has always been this rumor about the suicide 4.0. It’s just this idea that’s been debased but still keeps itself alive by word of mouth through hundreds of students. I thought it would be interesting to write about an evil person who actually tries to get someone to hang themselves. I’ve always been curious from a long distance, about truly despicable people and their seeming lack of morals or reason, mostly since I’ve never understood them. I wondered if I could create a character whose motivations were so hidden that by the end of the story you learned a lot about them but really nothing at all. Parker’s my Iago, he’s my Joker."
Did you develop the character Hearse from a real person? "I think everyone knows someone a little like Hearse. Hearse is the guy at the party who tries too hard. The one who tries to get in on a string of jokes and once he’s said his piece everyone just kind of stares at him awkwardly and pretends that never happened. There are a lot of people like that, just utterly clueless to their environment. I know that guy but there’s always a bit of the writer in the character as well. Hearse wears his heart on his sleeve and because of that he’s hurt all the time. He’s someone who acts on impulse and because of that he spends a lot of time regretting what he’s done. I think when I regret I feel like Hearse. So, yeah, there are some specific people who I fashioned him from but he has a kind of universal hopelessness to him."
I perceive you as being down to earth and a very friendly person. Parker is quite a malice seductive character, was it difficult to think of dialogue for his character? In other words, how did you develop the mindset to think like him? "Well thank you! To be honest Parker was the character whose words always flowed at a steady pace. It may be because I’m also an actor and I’ve made it my life’s works to embody people I’m nothing like and to try and think like the character would think. Parker is a sociopath, so the ones I really tried to understand as I wrote were the characters he surrounds himself with. When I knew the weaknesses of the other people in Parker’s life I knew how he would be able to exploit them. And like Hearse, there actually is a part of me in Parker, I tried to write him as myself or someone I knew devoid of any morals. It’s fun to write like that, you get to think like anyone you want and there are no rules, I may have had too much fun writing for Parker."
Do you currently have any new works in progress? "I’m actually tossing a few ideas around right now for other works. I’ve started to write another dark comedy about cultish religions and how we make light of what we believe to be absurdities in other people’s faith while we haven’t really stopped to look at the gaps of truth in our own. There are two other stories I’m working on, one’s kind of about death but deals with the question of what the kids of a cartoonish adventurer would be like after they grew up (think Johnny Quest, or Duck Tales) and the other is an abstract play about people meeting in the night at a literal break in time where they have to make the decision to move on or stay overwhelmed."
How do you feel when you’ve finally completely finished a piece of writing? "When I finish a work I feel an enormous sense of accomplishment as I type “THE END” in bold black lettering. That sense of accomplishment is immediately replaced with a feeling of sadness and insecurity. I imagine it must be the equivalent of what a painter feels. You look at the dark spots, the change in colors and mood and you can’t stop wondering if this is really finished.All and all though, I’d say I feel more at peace having put my thoughts on paper than to be walking around with all these ideas stuck in my head."
Finally, what advice would you give to those striving to become a screenwriter? "My only advice is to write, write and write some more. Make it more then a hobby and if you’re serious about it start as soon as you can. The only way you can improve at any rate is to train and develop the skill like a muscle. You have to understand that the things you write initially when you start off probably aren’t that great but that’s ok because you’re in the middle of a process. Writing to make a living requires you to be vigilant in your efforts and completely dedicated to making work that at least you yourself can say you’re proud of."
Interviewee Mick F.
Where does the inspiration for your writing come from? "My inspiration comes from all over the place. I LOVE movies, and I love all the possibilities life presents us with. I have a very over-active imagination, so it's pretty easy for me to write. Often I'll just sit down and start writing, without knowing who I'm writing about or what direction I'm going in, and after fifteen minutes or so I'm just going...and later on I'll go back and revise it and make it as coherent as possible, sometimes even turning what I've come up with into something completely different. I tend to stray towards science fiction and fantasy, or at least ideas that take place in the future, because there's an unlimited amount of possibility when you're dealing with something that doesn't exist yet."
When do you find time to write? (Is it on the spot when you have an idea? Do you make time and wait for creativity to strike?) "A lot of times when I'll come up with an idea and I'm not at home or don't really have time to explore it fully, I'll write it down so I can go back to it later. As for when I have time to write, I generally don't. However, there'll be times when I'll be inspired to, and I start writing in the evening, and just write all night long. I don't really get tired at night when I'm writing if I have something good, it's a kind of rush, and before I know it, it's morning."
As a screenwriter, what do you think is the best way to make your screenplay ‘jump off the page’ or stand out? "To me, the most important things as a screenwriter to make your screenplay "jump off the page" are: 1. Having great characters; they should be either someone the audience can relate to, or someone the audience WANTS to relate to or figure out. For all intensive purposes, they are our voice in a sense, our story-tellers, so they are key. 2. Generally speaking, films are a glimpse of an extraordinary day in an ordinary life."
You have written a treatment called “Traces,” could you give a brief synopsis of it with out giving too much away? "Detective Saunderville is called in to investigate the death of a CEO and the disappearance of his two children. When the daughter, Tzara suddenly appears in the lobby of the police station, soaking wet and covered in blood, Saunderville's investigation takes a turn for the wild side, leading him through a maze of lies, mis-understandings, and frightening surprises." What gave you the idea for this intelligent story? "Actually, it was the product of an assignment I received in my screen writing class in college. In fact, most of my treatments are. The assignment was to break down the first act of a script into its three major scenes. I really wanted to write a mystery with a character that belonged in a film noir detective story, and throw him into a sort of thriller. That's basically all I had when I started out and it turned into what it did, but it's nowhere near finished."
You have also written an exquisite horror act structure called “Vanished,” could you tell us a little about that? Do you think you will decide to write the complete screenplay? “'Vanished' was another assignment from my class. We had to take a news article, book, anything with a story we could find that we'd be able to adapt into a screenplay treatment with three acts. I picked up an urban legends graphic novel and was very intrigued by one particular urban legend that dealt with a hitchhiking girl who always got picked up by single men and disappeared before they reached their destination. This particular story popped out to me because it seemed to keep coming up all throughout the book in different variations. I also saw a challenge in trying to create a horror story that hadn't been done before using a known and not very original plot.
As for whether or not I'm deciding to turn it into a complete screenplay, it's something I've been under-taking for a while now. Hopefully, it'll be as successful as the treatment was in my classroom.” What process, if any, do you go through to develop your character’s personality? (dealing with any character from your writing) “Generally, my process for character development starts with my story, or rather what obstacles it holds for my character. Knowing the obstacles, I give my character a goal, and through that, I'm able to determine the character’s personality. I usually like to make my characters a bit quirky, or completely flawed. Giving them major flaws, gives them somewhere to go as a person, and starts an arc. I also have to take into account the time period the story is set in, where it takes place, and what the situation is, ie; is it a major disaster or a hostage situation? These are all factors that go in to determining a character's personality for me. I also can't seem to help either putting a little of myself into each of them or making them someone I'd want to be in their worlds or situations. But that's part of the fun of it.”
Finally, what advice would you give to aspiring screenwriters? “The best advice I can give is that you need to stick with it, don't give up. Always look for new inspiration or material. Don't ever steal someone else’s ideas. If you truly believe that everything's already been done, you're not using your imagination to its full extent. There's ALWAYS something new. It's not necessarily a bad idea to collaborate with other writers or even friends when you're stuck or over-whelmed. And be modest.”
*In order to protect the identities of the interviewees their last name has been withheld. The information in this interview is non-fiction and are the thoughts of professional screenwriters/actors.*
Last April of 2008, my family made a trip to California for my brother's college graduation. He and his friends had completed their studies at a two year school called American Music Dramatic Academy [AMDA]. It was on the trip I was priviledged to meet some of the new faces that will soon appear in Hollywood films. Two people I met also had skills in another field of the film business, Francis H. and Mick F. have a passion for writing and their work proves their efforts. I have conducted an interview with both screenwriters/actors asking them about their personal screenplays and some insight to character development and overall screenwriting advice.
Interviewee Francis H.
Where does your inspiration for your writing come from?
"I think the cop out answer is life but that’s really the truth. I try to observe people and their motivation for doing the things they do. Ordinary people make for inspiring characters because I think in a big way it’s the more average people out there that I have trouble connecting with and because of that they’re intriguing. Different cultures and the weird way we conduct ourselves makes for a huge amount of inspiration. After spending two minutes with a person I begin to wonder, 'Ok, I know I went through a lot of twists and turns to find myself the person I am at this point, how did they end up here, wouldn’t that be interesting to make up and create?'"
and that you were exceptionally talented at it?
"I think I started writing out of necessity to provide something for my cartooning. I was very young when I stopped focusing on coloring inside the lines and started concerning myself with drawing my own pictures, probably five. I use to make ridiculous comics about hamsters who talked and melancholy French bulldogs that lived together and wore turtlenecks and I think it was in large part because of the Nickelodeon television culture at the time. That really impacted me, shows like Ren and Stimpy and Rocko’s Modern Life, they told me 'Hey, this is what’s funny and if you want to draw these kinds of characters you’re going to have to provide them with dialogue, with funny things to say.' I can’t say I really knew I was exceptionally talented until I got recognition from my teachers and family. I guess it was weird to see this little kid writing and drawing his own little comic series. Once it was noticed though, my parents put all their power into trying to make me pursue it. My mother read dozens of strange, imaginative books to me before I would go to sleep and I went to a few drawing camps. Once the gift was recognized fuel was kept at a rapid pace on the fire."
You have written a piece called "Roped," do you mind stating a brief synopsis of the play without giving too much away?
"Roped is a piece about morality and giving up or going on. It takes place at a college with four friends, Parker, Hearse, Ike and Elmo. The main character, Parker, finds out about a rumored loophole that provides any person whose roommate commits suicide with straight A’s. Once he has this information he begins to devise a plan to convince his roommate Hearse to take his own life."
How did the idea for "Roped" come to you?
"I think once anyone goes to college or even in my case before that, there has always been this rumor about the suicide 4.0. It’s just this idea that’s been debased but still keeps itself alive by word of mouth through hundreds of students. I thought it would be interesting to write about an evil person who actually tries to get someone to hang themselves. I’ve always been curious from a long distance, about truly despicable people and their seeming lack of morals or reason, mostly since I’ve never understood them. I wondered if I could create a character whose motivations were so hidden that by the end of the story you learned a lot about them but really nothing at all. Parker’s my Iago, he’s my Joker."
Did you develop the character Hearse from a real person?
"I think everyone knows someone a little like Hearse. Hearse is the guy at the party who tries too hard. The one who tries to get in on a string of jokes and once he’s said his piece everyone just kind of stares at him awkwardly and pretends that never happened. There are a lot of people like that, just utterly clueless to their environment. I know that guy but there’s always a bit of the writer in the character as well. Hearse wears his heart on his sleeve and because of that he’s hurt all the time. He’s someone who acts on impulse and because of that he spends a lot of time regretting what he’s done. I think when I regret I feel like Hearse. So, yeah, there are some specific people who I fashioned him from but he has a kind of universal hopelessness to him."
I perceive you as being down to earth and a very friendly person. Parker is quite a malice seductive character, was it difficult to think of dialogue for his character? In other words, how did you develop the mindset to think like him?
"Well thank you! To be honest Parker was the character whose words always flowed at a steady pace. It may be because I’m also an actor and I’ve made it my life’s works to embody people I’m nothing like and to try and think like the character would think. Parker is a sociopath, so the ones I really tried to understand as I wrote were the characters he surrounds himself with. When I knew the weaknesses of the other people in Parker’s life I knew how he would be able to exploit them. And like Hearse, there actually is a part of me in Parker, I tried to write him as myself or someone I knew devoid of any morals. It’s fun to write like that, you get to think like anyone you want and there are no rules, I may have had too much fun writing for Parker."
"I’m actually tossing a few ideas around right now for other works. I’ve started to write another dark comedy about cultish religions and how we make light of what we believe to be absurdities in other people’s faith while we haven’t really stopped to look at the gaps of truth in our own. There are two other stories I’m working on, one’s kind of about death but deals with the question of what the kids of a cartoonish adventurer would be like after they grew up (think Johnny Quest, or Duck Tales) and the other is an abstract play about people meeting in the night at a literal break in time where they have to make the decision to move on or stay overwhelmed."
How do you feel when you’ve finally completely finished a piece of writing?
"When I finish a work I feel an enormous sense of accomplishment as I type “THE END” in bold black lettering. That sense of accomplishment is immediately replaced with a feeling of sadness and insecurity. I imagine it must be the equivalent of what a painter feels. You look at the dark spots, the change in colors and mood and you can’t stop wondering if this is really finished. All and all though, I’d say I feel more at peace having put my thoughts on paper than to be walking around with all these ideas stuck in my head."
Finally, what advice would you give to those striving to become a screenwriter?
"My only advice is to write, write and write some more. Make it more then a hobby and if you’re serious about it start as soon as you can. The only way you can improve at any rate is to train and develop the skill like a muscle. You have to understand that the things you write initially when you start off probably aren’t that great but that’s ok because you’re in the middle of a process. Writing to make a living requires you to be vigilant in your efforts and completely dedicated to making work that at least you yourself can say you’re proud of."
Interviewee Mick F.
Where does the inspiration for your writing come from?
"My inspiration comes from all over the place. I LOVE movies, and I love all the possibilities life presents us with. I have a very over-active imagination, so it's pretty easy for me to write. Often I'll just sit down and start writing, without knowing who I'm writing about or what direction I'm going in, and after fifteen minutes or so I'm just going...and later on I'll go back and revise it and make it as coherent as possible, sometimes even turning what I've come up with into something completely different. I tend to stray towards science fiction and fantasy, or at least ideas that take place in the future, because there's an unlimited amount of possibility when you're dealing with something that doesn't exist yet."
When do you find time to write? (Is it on the spot when you have an idea? Do you make time and wait for creativity to strike?)
"A lot of times when I'll come up with an idea and I'm not at home or don't really have time to explore it fully, I'll write it down so I can go back to it later. As for when I have time to write, I generally don't. However, there'll be times when I'll be inspired to, and I start writing in the evening, and just write all night long. I don't really get tired at night when I'm writing if I have something good, it's a kind of rush, and before I know it, it's morning."
As a screenwriter, what do you think is the best way to make your screenplay ‘jump off the page’ or stand out?
"To me, the most important things as a screenwriter to make your screenplay "jump off the page" are: 1. Having great characters; they should be either someone the audience can relate to, or someone the audience WANTS to relate to or figure out. For all intensive purposes, they are our voice in a sense, our story-tellers, so they are key. 2. Generally speaking, films are a glimpse of an extraordinary day in an ordinary life."
"Detective Saunderville is called in to investigate the death of a CEO and the disappearance of his two children. When the daughter, Tzara suddenly appears in the lobby of the police station, soaking wet and covered in blood, Saunderville's investigation takes a turn for the wild side, leading him through a maze of lies, mis-understandings, and frightening surprises."
What gave you the idea for this intelligent story?
"Actually, it was the product of an assignment I received in my screen writing class in college. In fact, most of my treatments are. The assignment was to break down the first act of a script into its three major scenes. I really wanted to write a mystery with a character that belonged in a film noir detective story, and throw him into a sort of thriller. That's basically all I had when I started out and it turned into what it did, but it's nowhere near finished."
You have also written an exquisite horror act structure called “Vanished,” could you tell us a little about that? Do you think you will decide to write the complete screenplay?
“'Vanished' was another assignment from my class. We had to take a news article, book, anything with a story we could find that we'd be able to adapt into a screenplay treatment with three acts. I picked up an urban legends graphic novel and was very intrigued by one particular urban legend that dealt with a hitchhiking girl who always got picked up by single men and disappeared before they reached their destination. This particular story popped out to me because it seemed to keep coming up all throughout the book in different variations. I also saw a challenge in trying to create a horror story that hadn't been done before using a known and not very original plot.
As for whether or not I'm deciding to turn it into a complete screenplay, it's something I've been under-taking for a while now. Hopefully, it'll be as successful as the treatment was in my classroom.”
What process, if any, do you go through to develop your character’s personality? (dealing with any character from your writing)
“Generally, my process for character development starts with my story, or rather what obstacles it holds for my character. Knowing the obstacles, I give my character a goal, and through that, I'm able to determine the character’s personality. I usually like to make my characters a bit quirky, or completely flawed. Giving them major flaws, gives them somewhere to go as a person, and starts an arc. I also have to take into account the time period the story is set in, where it takes place, and what the situation is, ie; is it a major disaster or a hostage situation? These are all factors that go in to determining a character's personality for me. I also can't seem to help either putting a little of myself into each of them or making them someone I'd want to be in their worlds or situations. But that's part of the fun of it.”
Finally, what advice would you give to aspiring screenwriters?
“The best advice I can give is that you need to stick with it, don't give up. Always look for new inspiration or material. Don't ever steal someone else’s ideas. If you truly believe that everything's already been done, you're not using your imagination to its full extent. There's ALWAYS something new. It's not necessarily a bad idea to collaborate with other writers or even friends when you're stuck or over-whelmed. And be modest.”
*In order to protect the identities of the interviewees their last name has been withheld. The information in this interview is non-fiction and are the thoughts of professional screenwriters/actors.*